Homeland Turbowatch Part 4 – Episodes 7 & 8

Here are the things that, are far as I can see, we can still believe to be true because we haven’t seen them to be false yet. My new move with Homeland is that only what I physically see is true, and even then, it better not be in a flashback.

So. Carrie seems incapable of lying. As I watch her I realize that, disturbed on some levels as she is, she doesn’t tell untruths that would get her out of trouble – or she can’t. Yes, she could have worked up a better lie about the Yorkshie Gold – but she doesn’t. She doesn’t when she could slip by Saul, either, making up reasons for her arguments with Brody. Every time she can have someone confront her or call her out, Carrie does – because they care about her then. They love her. She can have her behavior checked-and-balanced by people who aren’t her family.

I of course should give all credit to the actors because I’ll be damned if I wasn’t compelled when Carrie took Brody to bed. I don’t mean the banging they’d indulged in before – I mean kissing in front of the fire. Moving with eyes open. That whole thing that will bother them both for weeks because you can’t fake intimacy and they will wish they had. Incidentally, Amber emailed to let me know that hypersexuality is a trait that can be associated with bipolarism, so if that’s what Carrie has, it might get you through the cringing about her sleeping with a terrorist. Which, of course, he isn’t. Maybe. Maybe? Who’s the diplomat he choked? If said diplomat is in touch with him and Tom both, you’re telling me Brody never once saw him or wondered or…?

Still, where Brody and Matheson are concerned, the part about nobody understanding Carrie – nobody understanding Brody – that’s real – and I wish I could shake the feeling that he’s getting along better with his wife because he can be his real self somewhere else.

Other truths? Dana’s arm is just what, a sign of teen rebellion? Really? That’s it?

Saul didn’t really want his wife to stay. This is not a revelation or anything but given that he stared and whined at her for a whole episode and didn’t actually show up when she needed him to, it makes me think about how much we know about people’s marriages on this show – they’re the defining unit of whether or not people are healthy. People have happy marriages or they get remarried, or they never stop loving their partner even though they moved on for practical reasons.

I mean, this is a pretty significant thing that this show wants us to look at. I had very little use for Aileen and I’m glad she’s gone (I hope) but this is what they showed us: messed-up life? No more companionship. That’s your punishment. Carrie muses that she’s going to be alone (and you’re telling me that she never thought that before? ) but it almost seems like everyone on the show whose relationship has crumbled has…something to show for it. A career milestone. A reward in battle. The Brodys…well, they hang in the balance, don’t they?

So with four episodes left in season 1 (and season 2 breathing down my neck, like YES I’m excited) how much can we really solve? Brody’s not as simple as he lets on so does this mean he’s now smarter than Carrie? Because this is all I think about anymore, other than shaming myself for wanting to see them together all the time:

Which one of them has the upper hand, and is that for real, or am I not sophisticated enough to see what’s going to happen with the next twist? Whose turn is it to be on top?